More Day 4 pictures

Walking through the compound-nice,neat and clean

This facility is a project of Half the Sky!

The chidlren lined up to wait for their treats

Rose and I handed out the note pads and pens

Enjoying their new pens-such a simple little gift, but it really did mean alot to them all!

How I wish it could have been for all 200 children there!!!

There are toys available to play with….

Loved all the trikes stacked up and ready for play time!

The road outside the compound-reminded me of Russia-potholes as big as trucks!!!

Heart wrenching visit….

at the Guiyang Orphanage.

Ever since we stepped foot in Russian orphanages almost 12 years ago, I have had a very hard time dealing with the reality that children actually live in these places.

Yes,they are better than living on the street, Yes, they have clothes, food, the basics our bodies need for survival they have caregivers who CARE they get medical attention when they need it they have some toys, some games, some play time BUT they don't have a family!!!

Imagine waking up one day and not having your family???

What would you think?

What would you do?

Where would you go?

What would you FEEL?

An orphanage is a place where over 147 million of the world's children have their basic needs met YET, they still have the most incredible need left unmet-that for a forever family-a mommy and daddy to hold them, kiss them, tuck them in at night, hold their hand when they are tired, scared, hungry, upset....

These children have care givers, but that is not FAMILY!!!

Guiyang Children's Welfare Institute is a wonderful place for the 200 orphans that call this place  home.

It meets their needs, it provides them with food, clothes, and a place to sleep.

It has caring people who want the best for the children.

BUT, yet, it is filled with children who really need mommys and daddys.

We only spent 2 hours there today.

We only had simple gifts for about 40 of the chidlren-pads, pens, and some snackies!!

And did they appreciate the pens and paper-they all went to work immediately writing, drawing, and sharing with their friends.

Tonight: I have my 3 girls with me in our fancy hotel room.

I have my 4 boys safe and sound at home.

They were once orphans, and they aren't any more!!!

May we all hear the cry of the fatherless, and hear God's heart for them-that they would all have families, and may we have the courage to answer that call !!!

In Him,

Chris and the girls

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABA!!!!!!!!

Click here to view this video

Day 3….

and doing well.

Some sights around the Hotel-everything is in full

swing for the advent of Chinese New Year which

is coming soon!!!

Even tho we started out the morning with Kendell's tummy swirling, it got much better later on.

We had canceled our market walk with Vickie due to tummy troubles, but about 11 we decided to venture out for some "fresh" air-meaning at least not hot, stuffy hotel air- and some much needed leg stretching-the 6 yr old needs SPACE!!!!

We walked around for an hour, and found an American owned coffee shop-looks like they have cheesecake, I am sure we will go there some afternoon for a snack before we leave.

When we got back to the Hotel, Lili was showing signs of asthma from the cold, damp air. We will definitely be getting her lungs checked out when we get home, and I am thankful for a Dr's appointment on Saturday in Guangzhou-she has some pretty nasty sinus stuff going on.

We also came back to a room in the process of being cleaned, so we had to hang out in the hall for a few minutes, and I encouraged the girls to use up a bit more energy by playing tag-the hallways make a big circle-didn't take much and they were all giggling and running and that was a good thing.

We thought about venturing to the Buffet for supper, but prices were quite high, and after looking over the available western fare, (and Kendell was not impressed) we opted for room service again. We had hotdogs, cheeseburgers and french fries, and our little Asian beauty, Lili, ONLY eats Asian food. She is very reluctant to try anything unfamiliar, and if it doesn't have rice or noodles in it, Look out!!!

Look out boys, we will be adding some Asian dishes to our meals for awhile :)

Not much going on tonight, but on Wednesday morning, we get to visit the Guiyang Orphanage, I believe it is run by a Christian director, and all of their foster families are Christian-I am really looking forward to this opportunity-and hoping to get LOTS of pictures and videos of any children currently waiting on the shared list!!!

Thanks to Lynnea, we can keep blogging, so I will sign off for now.

Lots of love

Chris and the girls

One cute side note you could include under the pic of the 3 girls when they are outside:

We were concerned that Lili would not transition  to our longer skirts and dresses well, so I brought a couple cute skirts and tops we were only outside a couple minutes and she was bending over trying to pull her skirt down so it would be as long as ours way tooooo cute, and way toooo bright!!!

3 sleeping beauties!!!

           (guest blogger here....I don't know why but these pictures brought tears to my eyes.)

                                The fountain is certainly pretty, but then add 3 adorable daughters!!

                                                               What a beautiful entrance

                               Trying to stay busy-good thing they all like to color, draw and doodle!!!